The Dash

How this should End

When J.K. Rowling wrote the "Harry Potter" series of books, she started with the ending. That must be a great feeling to have an idea in your head that will take seven books to finish but you always know how it is going to end. Of course, I don't have the luxury of knowing how or when my life will end. I think that my goal, then, is to just try to plug along, be as kind as I can be to my wife, kids, and the people around me, and live out the best life that I can with what I have. If I had to write an ending for my life first, I would describe a church packed with people who knew and cared about me. I would hope that a few of my best friends would stand up to share some thoughts about me, then my kids, and finally my wife. I hope that every speech given would start with "There are so many stories to tell," and end with "...that's the kind of person Jon was." I don't know that people could say that I lived a very active life. I haven't gone on a lot of hunting trips, traveled the world, or cured cancer, and I'm not sure I'll be able to do much of that before I pass away. I do hope that people will say that I was kind, considerate, conscientious, committed, and that I was someone who had integrity. I followed the rules, but wasn't afraid to think outside of the box. It was about six years ago when I first started to think about death and how my funeral would go. I attended my Uncle Russ' funeral, and after hearing his favorite hymnal being played, and reading from passages in the bible, I began to wonder if I could identify with any particular songs or scriptures. I suddenly had this vision of the theme from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" being played as my casket was carried down the aisle of a church. Then, I began to think about my kids. Up until then, we hadn't been attending church at all except for Christmas service or during the summer with my in-laws' church happened to hold their week of vacation bible school. It seemed unfair that my kids were not at least being exposed to some form of religion just because my wife and I were making the decision not to go. And, it seemed pretty clear that my lack of knowledge about God or hymns would put me at a disadvantage when I was on my way out. So, I'm happy to say that since then the kids and I have been attending church pretty faithfully, but not completely out of a fear of death. I'm just saying that these were the thoughts which drove me to take action. I hope that my friends and family who attend will also say that I was always striving to improve myself and determine my place in the world.

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